Lion Cubs
by xXDeadToastXx
Summary: Memoirs of the Lannister children and their childhood.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Jamie

My name is Jaime Lannister. The first born son of Lord Tywin Lannister and Lady Joanna Lannister, twin brother of the former queen regent Lady Cersei Lannister Baratheon and elder brother of Lord Tyrion Lannister the Imp. But I was not remembered as this person, I was remembered as King Slayer. A title I famously earned by thrusting my sword through King Aerys Targaryen during the Sack of Kings Landing. But that wasn't until I was at least twenty or so. Before that I was only Ser Jaime of the Kingsgaurd. And before that I was a squire. But long before that I was Cersei's.

From the moment I was born, she was by my side. My sister, my twin, my Cersei. As far back as I can remember I have loved her. She was my sun, my moon, and my entire world. I can remember when I first realized this about my twin. We were only eight so the memory is hazy, but I have tried to fill in the empty spaces as best as I can.

The family was at Casterly Rock, and this particular night was filled with storms. Even though she was not by my side at that moment, I could feel how afraid my Cersei was. I trembled with her, feeling the doll she hugged tight. As I lay in the dark I prayed to the gods that I could help her be brave, that I could tell her it was only a storm and she didn't need to be afraid. How I wanted to sit by her side and tell her that the thunder was not a monster coming to devour her, that the heavy rains were only droplets of water and how the lightening could not possibly harm her.

In the room next to me I could hear my father weeping, weeping for the wife he had lost over two months ago in childbirth. Though she had given him a son, he saw that child as some kind of monster and my father refused to see him as his own. "This creature is no child of mine," he had said when he first saw my brother. Thus far Cersei and I had only seen small glimpses of our brother, always swaddled and carried by a nursemaid. So neither of us had no idea what our father meant by the word "creature".

The slow burning logs in the fire place cast a warm, orange glow over my bed chambers. In the dull light I saw my twin standing at the foot of my bed. Her golden hair was in a braid that had been tangled by a night of tossing and turning. She trembled, her eyes fearful with small tears. In her hands she held a small doll, the last one our mother gave her before she passed.

"Jamie," she whimpered. "I'm afraid. May I sleep with you?"

I nodded and motioned for her to join me. She scurried into the bed and clung to my side, as if I was the one thing that could save her from the storm outside. And for a girl only eight years old, maybe I was.

"Are you scared too, Jamie?" She whispered.

"Of course not," I answered. "I'm going to be a knight one day and knights can't be afraid of anything, especially a silly storm."

"Then why are you awake?"

"I was just thinking."

"About what?"

I answered her, though she already knew."Our brother,"

It was all we ever thought about since our mother died.

She sat up, careful to keep the covers wrapped around her. "I saw him today!"

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did!" She argued. "And I can prove it!"

Now I sat up in my bed. Her lips were drawn in a smug grin, her eyes were bright with a confident sense of mischief. I crossed my arms. "Oh really? And just what did he look like?" Cersei turned her eyes, eyes which were identical to mine, away from my face. She bit her lower lip with her dainty front teeth, something she did when she was unsure of herself. I was right, she was lying about having seen him. "HA! I knew you didn't see him!"

"No! I did see him! Well...part of him." She paused. "I saw his hair. It's golden just like ours!"

"So he has hair?"

"Of course he does! Why wouldn't he?"

I shrugged. "Father said he was a monster. Some monsters don't have hair."

Her eyes grew big and fearful again. "There are monsters?" I bit my tongue, I should have known better. Acknowledging the existence of anything unpleasant would only frighten her. Now she would never fall asleep.

"No, of course not." I assured her. "I just think that if monsters WERE real, that some of them may not have hair." She edged closer to me, still afraid and unsure.

"You promise?"

"I give you my vow as a knight that monsters aren't real." I said. She crawled closer and closer until she was huddled up against the side of my body, her cheek was pressed against my night shirt. "You're not a real knight," she said into the fabric. "You're only eight."

"But I'm training to be a knight. And one day I will be." She said nothing, and for a moment I thought she had fallen asleep. Convinced she was at peace, I too began to doze but a small mewing woke me. I could feel a warm moistness on my chest, I looked down to see Cersei trembling against me. "Cersei," I said. "What's the matter?"

"Me," she cried quietly. "I'm what's wrong."

I stroked her shoulder as a way to soothe her. "You're perfect."

"No I'm not." She sobbed. "I'm just a stupid girl!" I pulled her closer to me, holding her tighter as her tears graduated from a small crying into bawling. "Cersei," I whispered. "You are not stupid."

"Yes I am! All I'm good for is being pretty and marrying and having babies!" While I had often heard older men and even my own father refer to girls this way, I knew this wasn't true. Not about my sister, at least. It could never be true about her. "That's not true!" I argued. "You're wonderful! You're smart and very pretty and you paint really good and-"

"It doesn't matter!" She cried. "All that matters now is you and our brother, because you're boys!"

"So what?"

"So, you'll be a knight one day and he'll be...something! Maybe married to a princess!" She pulled on my nightshirt, using it to wipe away her tears. "And I'll get married one day and no one will even know I'm alive!"

"I'll know you're alive. I'll always know you're alive." She choked back tears long enough to lift her head and meet my eyes.

" You will?" I nodded my head before wiping away a few stray tears from her reddened cheeks. "How could I ever forget about you, Cersei?" I said. "You're the smartest girl I know and you have the most beautiful gold hair in all seven kingdoms."

"You promise you won't forget me, Jamie?"

"Never ever," I said, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Never, ever, ever."

"Thank you." She whispered. " I love you, Jamie."

"I love you too,Cersei," I said into her soft hair. "I always will."

It was not long before she fell asleep, still wrapped in my small boyish arms. I watched as the logs burned, the fire turning to embers and the embers turning to ash leaving the room in darkness. I still held my sister, I could hear her heart beat inside her chest. It was slow and rhythmic, like a song. She was probably dreaming by now, hopefully of something wonderful and nothing frightening. Perhaps she was dreaming of our mother, that she has lived. Or maybe she dreamed of our brother, imagining what he looked like. For her sake I hoped she saw him as a lovely baby with a cherub's face framed by gold curls and big green eyes. The storm had settled into a light rain and I began to fall asleep myself. But as I began to dream I held onto Cersei, making a silent vow to always love her and care for her even if no one else did. "Good night, my sister." I whispered somewhere between sleep and consciousness. "I will love you forever."


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Cersei

I, Cersei Lannister, a lady in name as well as in essence. I was born of nobility to House Lannister and bore two sons who would each become king. I was born to power and wealth. Though I am a woman and had no true claim to all that my brothers and father had I did not flounder by any means. In truth I accomplished a thousand times more what many others could never do even in a thousand life times. I married a king, I ruled as the queen regent, and was forever bathed in luxury.

I was born at Casterly Rock, my father's castle, and was treated as if I were a princess from the moment I arrived even if I was only a noblewoman. I will never forget how my mother and our maids cooed over me as a child. Even my father found me irresistible, and he wasn't exactly known for his warmth and affectionate nature. But somehow through it all he saw that I was given the very finest things. So fine that even the Targaryen princesses grew envious.

The day had come when at last I was determined to see what my father was hiding. I was almost eleven now and still had not seen my baby brother. Jamie agreed with me that the secrecy had gone on much too long.  
"I'm going to see him," I said to him while we played in the garden one afternoon. "I'm tired of waiting."  
"Me too."  
I tossed a small ball to one of our dogs. "No," I said. "You can't come."  
"Why not? He's my brother too."  
"I know, but I think two of us will be to tricky. And someone needs to provide a distraction so the other one can sneak off to that room."  
Jamie nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, but why me and not you?"  
"Because I'm quieter and quicker. I'll be able to get in and get out easy."  
"What are you saying?"  
I retrieved the ball from the dog's mouth, wiping it on my sleeve first. "That I am much more nimble than you." We watched as the ball flew past the rose bushes, the small black dog eagerly chasing after it.  
"Not true!" He argued. "Sword fighting takes a great deal of grace, a lot more than needle point. Therefore I'm much better suited for the task."  
I couldn't deny this. Sword fighting did in fact require much more agility than any of my activities. But, I wasn't going to let him see our brother before I did.  
"You're right," I said. "But you must also admit that it could provide a greater distraction. After all, people watch you spar more than they watch me sew or play the harp." I had flattered his ego, this would ensure that he would do what I said.  
"I suppose you're right," he conceded. "But promise me something."  
"Anything."  
"Tell me everything."  
I smirked. "What kind of sister would I be if I didn't?"

From my bedroom I watched Jamie practice his swordsmanship outside. He made sure he could also see me from where he stood, insuring that he would be able to see me give the signal.  
Beyond Jamie I could see a menagerie of onlookers in the garden. I looked past them to see father and his guards nearing Jamie's area, I knew it was time. I looked down once more at Jamie until he looked back at me. Once our eyes met I nodded and pulled my curtains closed.  
I waited until I heard Jamie cry out, fooling everyone into believing he was injured and causing everyone to come to his aid.I heard a scream and hurried footsteps outside my window. Jamie was very punctual.  
I hurried from my bedchamber and down the empty corridor, careful not to make unneeded noises. As I ran I imagined what my brother may look like, what had caused my father to call him a "monster" and a "freak". Perhaps he had horns, or a tail. I imagined a baby with a tail, and what kind of tail it was. Was it like a horse's, a dog's,or even a rabbit's? Then again, Jamie and myself were perfectly normal. Why should our brother be any different?  
Before entering the forbidden room I swept a last glance at the corridor to make certain that I was still alone. I found myself trying to keep my breathing even. I hadn't realized I was so very anxious. My trembling hand found it's way to the latch, and slowly lifted it. The metal latch creaked as it rose, as though it hadn't been touched in a very long time. I glanced behind me once more to make sure no one was around, someone easily could have heard the latch being removed. Still alone, Jaime was such a talented actor when he wanted to be.  
I pushed the door inwards, but only enough to allow myself to slip inside. I could see that no candles were lit, the only light came from a small window that hardly passed for more than a skinny little crack in between the bricks. I began to believe that this room was empty and our father was keeping our brother somewhere else entirely. It would be like father, to make everyone believe the strange newborn was hidden in here when in fact he was somewhere else so no one could find him. I squinted in the dimness of the chamber, following the sliver of light. Finally I could see the shadowy outline of a tiny cradle. I drew closer to it, to peer at the small lump that lay swaddled in thin blankets.  
Barely peeking out was a thin curl of pale blonde hair. His hair was like ours, so the rest of him must be normal too. Perhaps father was just angry with him because he had killed our mother. Eagerly I drew back the blanket, happy to see my new baby brother. I thought about how much fun he would be to play with. Jaime and I could teach him to ride, to fight and he was still small enough that I could put him in my dolls clothes. I was imagining how precious that would be when I revealed him.  
I had been wrong, the wisp of Lannister blonde hair had been deceiving.  
He was nothing like Jaime or myself. His head seemed so much larger, and his body was much too small for a head that size. The small legs were twisted, I doubted that he would ever be able to walk, it seemed silly that I had thought to teach him to ride. Even if he ever did walk, the smallest pony we owned would be too big. And his tiny feet would never reach the stirrups if a saddle no matter how small. I looked to his arms, much like his legs they seemed twisted and bent in the wrong places. As though he came out of our mother's womb with his arms already broken. I thought that perhaps they were, and that maybe his legs were too. Gently I picked him up, holding his small little figure in outstretched arms. His eyes began to blink as he awoke from his slumber. It was then that I saw his eyes. They were not the emerald green eyes of House Lannister. Well, at least one was, but it seemed cloudy not at all sparkling and gem like. But the other eye was dark, black even. It was like someone had cut out his real eye and replaced it with a perfectly shaped piece of coal.  
His strange eyes watched me as I took in his ugly face. Much like his arms and legs the face just didn't look right. His brow much too large, his nose upturned like a pig's and the entire face seemed much too round to be human. He seemed to sense my disapproval and began to squirm, his small hands reached out to me. When he could not reach my face he clutched my sleeves. So his arms and hands could work. I felt him kicking and learned that his legs worked just as well.  
Even so his was a horrible thing to look at, I no longer wondered why father had kept him locked away. If he was my child I may have done the exact same.  
I felt his fingers digging into my arms, his fingernails were sharp for an infant's. Had I not been wearing long sleeves he may have drawn blood if he chose to do so.  
Outside the door I could hear footsteps and the rush of fabric on the cobblestone floors, I had stayed much too long.  
Hastily I tossed my baby brother back into the cradle, not bothering to swaddle him the way I had found him I was in too much of a hurry. No longer bothering to tip toe I ran from the cell that served as a nursery, I could hear him crying behind me. Ahead of me the corridor was still deserted, whoever was heading this way was still only in the stair well. I kicked the door shut behind me, clumsily replacing the lock and hurried to Jaime's bed chambers where I was to meet him.


	3. Chapter Three

Jaime

A servant propped my foot up with a stack of pillows.

"Quite a nasty fall, little lord?" She said as she gently rubbed the ankle that was supposedly broken.

"Oh, yes," I agreed. "It does hurt very much."

She smiled. "It's funny though, I been serving you since you was a wee thing and I never seen you get hurt till today."

"I tripped myself. I feel rather foolish."

"You should. Only a fool would do something like that," Her smile sharpened into a knowing smirk. "And Jaime Lannister is no fool."

I gritted my teeth, careful not to let her know that I was indeed faking an injury. And such a stupid injury at that. I was calculating an appropriate response when Cersei threw open the door. She looked flustered, her cheeks rosy and her golden plaits had become loose.

The servant rose to curtesy."M'lady,"

Cersei gave a small nod and hurried to my side. She shoved me slightly and sat next to me. I could tell she was about to speak but before she could we needed privacy.

"Leave us," I said to the servant. Her eyes narrowed as she rose. Once more she curtsied and left the room, but careful enough to leave the door open a small crack. No doubt she or another servant would be eavesdropping.

"Close the door," I told Cersei. In a flash she rose and shut it tightly. If anyone had pressed their ears to the opening they surely would have gotten hurt. This time Cersei did not gracefully prop herself onto the mattress but jumped onto it rumpling the covers and causing the frame to tremble.

"I saw him!" She exclaimed. "All of him!" I stayed silent, expecting her to continue. But instead she just sat in front of me with big, mischievous green eyes. I urged her to continue with a small hand gesture. "He was..." She began. "He was ugly."

"Ugly?" I said. "No Lannister is ugly."

"He is though. And small."

I laughed. "Cersei, he's a baby. Of course he's going to be small."

"No," she said shaking her head, golden wisps of hair fluttering around her. "I mean really small."

"He can't be that small," I countered. "We've seen the nurses carry him before. It's not as though he fits in the palm of their hands."

"Alright, but he is small."

I sat up straighter in bed. "I don't care how small or big he is, what does he look like?"

"Ugly."

I began to grow frustrated. "Yes you said that."

Cersei placed her hands onto her narrow hips. "Because that's what he is, Jaime. He's ugly."

I rolled my eyes and turned to the lemon cake the servant had placed on my bedside table. I bit into it, chewing it into oblivion before I spoke again. "Alright," I finally said to her. "What about him is ugly?"

She took the remaining cake from me and began to nibble it daintily as she had been taught. She seemed to be thinking as she nibbled, searching for the words on how exactly to explain what she saw. "His face," she said before returning to the cake. She paused to swallow. "It was mostly his face that made him ugly."

"What about his face?" Periodically she would bite into the cake,take a moment between chewing and swallow to think and then explain what she saw. She described to me eyes of two different colors, a ruddy pig snout for a nose, and gnarled limbs. When she told me that our brother had claws I was convinced she was lying. "No baby could draw blood with just their finger nails," I finally said. "You're lying. I bet everything you said was a lie."

"I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!" She cried. "I swear on our mother's grave that I'm not lying to you." I mulled over her words. She had the conviction to be telling the truth. And even father said that our baby brother was a monster. Cersei would easily tell stories, but father already felt this way. He had been the one to lock away his child. Certainly he was angry about mother's passing, but there was no reason to hate his second son when she gave her life for him. "I believe you," I finally said.

She seemed pleased as she finished the last morsel of the cake. "Oh Jaime," she sighed lowering herself to rest her head on my shoulder. "He really is a monster."

"Yes," I said wrapping my arm around her. "But he is a Lannister even so. Therefore he is family, and if something were to happen to me everything would be left to him instead."

Her head nuzzled my collar bone as she tried to get comfortable. She released a small yawn before letting her eyes close softly. "Don't say that, Jaime," she whispered. "I need you to be with me forever."

"Cersei," I purred as I brushed a stray hair from her brow. "I could never leave you."


	4. Chapter 4

Jaime

From my balcony I could see my father ride into the woods for a hunt. This would mean that Casterly Rock would be mostly empty for several hours if not well into the evening. And Cersei was attending her lessons well into the afternoon. Now it was my turn to see my baby brother.

With fewer people in the castle, I could be more careless with my movements and noises than Cersei had been. I unlatched the lock and opened the door all the way, knowing no one would come by. Cersei had told him the room was dark and the light from the corridors would only help him. Just as she had said a lone cradle sat in the center of the room with it's tiny occupant hidden in blankets. As I drew closer I could hear the soft cry of a babe, the cry of my brother. I peered over the edge of the cradle to see an infant with one green and one black eye. His face showed that he was troubled by something.

"Hello Tyrion," I said. "I'm your brother, Jaime."The baby turned to look at me. His expression of discontent melted into a grin. From beneath the cloth a tiny hand reached skyward. I knelt down so I was closer to him.

"Are you stuck?" I asked seeing him struggle to reach me from beneath the blanket. I pulled back the cloth, freeing his upper half. It was warm and the blanket was made from a coarser cloth that could only be irritating his infant flesh.

As I moved my hand over him he captured one of my fingers in his puny hand. His grip was strong, and I could have easily pulled away if I wanted to but instead I let him hold the finger. He seemed so happy, as though this was his proudest achievement. And perhaps as an infant this could easily be just that. He pulled my hostage finger to his mouth, I acted as an aide as I guided it towards his lips. His small mouth wrapped around it as he suckled. His mouth was warm and wet, and like any babe completely void of teeth. Slowly the suckling intensified, and he was beginning to let out small whimpers. I drew back my finger fearing that it was upsetting him in some way. But that was a poor decision on my part for he only began to cry.

"Shh..." I cooed. "It's alright." This of course did nothing to soothe him as being told to hush wasn't at all what he wanted. Carefully I lifted him from the cradle, making sure to keep him somewhat covered. It was now that I truly noticed how small his body seemed in comparison to his head. He seemed like such a sad little thing to me. I held onto him, cooing instinctively in hopes to somehow stop his crying. I let him take my finger once more, remembering how that had pleased him. It did stop his howling but tears still slithered out from his odd little eyes. I hurried from the empty room and down the hall all the way to the stairs where I was faced with Cersei.

"What are you doing?" She snapped seeing Tyrion in my arms.

"I think he's hungry," I replied. "I was going to the kitchens."

She only sneered. "Father hasn't returned from the hunt yet. I doubt they'll be any sort of raw meat for a beast like him to consume."

"He doesn't have teeth, Cersei. Just how is he to eat anything?" Her eyes darted to my hand and the finger in our brother's mouth.

"It seems to be eating you just fine without teeth." I tightened my grasp on him.

"He isn't eating me," I argued. "He's suckling because he's hungry."

"For blood."

"No, for milk. Which I am going to get him." I shoved her with my shoulder, moving past her and further down the stairs. She didn't follow but continued to her destination. As I hurried past room after room the few servants who did remain in the castle gasped once they saw that I had Tyrion. "He's a Lannister just as I am," I muttered as I hurried past. When I reached the kitchen word had spread that I was on my way there. The staff had had time to prepare themselves for my demands. "Milk," I said. "My brother is famished." A serving girl silently disappeared and then reappeared with a jug of milk. I stared at the frozen workers as they kept still. "And is my brother, an infant, expected to hold such a heavy object to his own lips?" I snapped. No one spoke. "Fetch me a ladle damn you!" With my demands met I headed to a table where I began to spoon milk into Tryion's hungry mouth. Eagerly he drank what I gave him, it seemed almost as if he had not eaten since he was born. I soon found that I had fed him the entire jug of milk. I looked down at him in my arms, his eyes glued to the now empty jug. "I'm sorry," I said. "You've eaten it all." At first he seemed to want to start crying again but he seemed to understand me in some way. His scrunched little face softened and he let out a meek yawn.

"I suppose you've grown attached by now." I heard her before I saw her. Like a cat lurking about in an alley Cersei emerged from the shadows. I looked up to meet her scowling expression. "Father won't be pleased," she sneered.

"Why not? He is our brother and if father wanted him dead he could have done it by now."


End file.
